Book Review - Death On A High Floor

Death On a High Floor by Charles Rosenberg

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Legal thrillers are my most cherished literary genre. You could blame John Grisham for that since my first real tryst with reading novels (yes I started quite late!) was with his brilliantly awesome books, the earlier, better ones. Not only did his stories whet my appetite for reading more books but also help define the legal thriller genre for me.

When I read the reviews for this particular title, the fact that it was penned by a former attorney and legal consultant to many legal TV dramas instantaneously sealed the deal for me!

The basic plot centers around, well, a death that takes place on the high floors of a reputable Los Angeles based law firm. The death is soon categorized as a murder and the story follows (or rather is narrated by) the senior partner at the law firm who becomes the prime suspect for the said murder.

Although our senior protagonist is a person of interest, there are numerous possible suspects and the narrator's personal investigations and thoughts tend to point the needle on the guilty compass, rather convincingly, to a few of them. Among them are other senior members of the law firm, present and retired as well as the victim's former lover! Throw in a counterfeit (potentially) ancient coin in the middle and the story also has something for fellow Numismatics


The first person narrative was quite refreshing and felt very comfortable (since I've kinda gotten used to that format reading GRRM's A Song Of Ice And Fire Series). That, the author has been a consultant to prime time legal TV dramas is quite evident in the dialogues between the characters in the story. And this is a good thing since it keeps the story quite engaging even when legal jargon is being jutted out in huge blocks.

The plot, environment and characters are, or at least have been penned, in a way that makes them very lucid and realistic further enabling you to truly get absorbed into the story. The author cleverly peppers subtle breadcrumbs for a sleuth-in-training to begin piecing the puzzle together and derive at a conclusion on his own. Fret not, for if you're without a background in investigatory studies because the plot is demystified and you do learn who is the true culprit.

The one tiny complaint that I would have the story would be the slightly late disclosure of the true murderer and the fashion in which the revelation is done. Apart from being slightly improbable it also forces the motive and opportunity of the said murder to be disclosed as an epilogue rather than as part of the actual story. Like I said it's a very tiny complaint because it doesn't really rob you of the satisfaction of the getting closure on the mystery.

I'd recommend this title to folks, who like me, enjoy devouring entertaining albeit slightly movie-style legal dramas. Give it a read!




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Wanderlust: Singapore OR A Noob's Guide To Visiting The Lion City

So this post is pretty much impromptu and totally random in every sense. This one's actually a mail to a friend who was enquiring about tourist hot spots in Singapore for her family (specifically her mom and sister). Although this is by no means a comprehensive guide to the Lion City, it's still a pretty nice primer for folks visiting the little red dot, especially during the holiday season. 

Most of the city is pretty much oriented towards shoppers, so there are ginormous malls in most areas. Although shopping isn't on their agenda, your sister and mom may enjoy just walking around these retail meccas for a while. Most notable ones are Takashiyama (Orchard road), Ion Orchard (Orchard Road), Raffles City (City Hall), Plaza Singapura (Dhoby Ghaut), VivoCity (Harbourfront) and Suntec City Mall (City Hall). And with the holiday season looming around the corner, these malls and shopping districts will be lit up like the 4th of July and will be absolutely picturesque!

If they enjoy taking walks around the city then I'd recommend taking the hop-on hop-off city tours. They offer the flexibility to explore pockets of the city such as Little India, CBD, Matina Bay Sands Hotel & Casino (the casino doesn't compare to the big Vegas ones, but is quite good), Singapore Flyer (similar to the London Eye), Botanical Gardens and Orchard Road. The most prominent (and I think the only one) player is Duck & Hippo. They offer great packages to combine multiple touring options.

The Singapore Zoo and Bird Park are also great destinations for a day trip and offer some great souvenirs to take back. For a unique experience they could possibly  try the Night Safari which is supposed to be quite good.

If they enjoy outdoor activities and wanna enjoy a nice bicycle ride (or skates!) along the shore, then they should check out East Coast Park (or ECP as its called by the locals). They can rent a cycle here and ride along the almost 7.5 km stretch of beach and park along the south eastern portion of the island.

If they can spare an entire day, they can also head to Pulau Ubin, a small island to the north east of Singapore and just a 30 min ferry ride away. Its a relatively under-developed fishing village but has some great cheap seafood options and an amazing bicycle trail that runs along the entire island.

If they'd like a short trek, there are a few options for that as well. Bukit Timah, Mc Rithcie Resevoir and Mt Faber are local trek hotspots. Although don't expect the rustic trekking trails of Maharashtra since all of these are pretty much man-made and have paved roads running through them. In fact, Mt. Faber also has 3-4 hill side fine dining restaurants.

There aren't too many great beaches (well not the kind you find in other SE Asian countries at least!) but a famous touristy beach is the Siloso beach on Sentosa, which another island to the south of mainland Singapore. Apart from the beach, there are also a rotating observation tower, Tiger Tower (so called because it's sponsored by Tiger Beer), The gigantic version of the original Merlion Statue and quite a few other activities and sights. Sentosa has a lot to offer and is a good day's outing. Sentosa is where they will also find Universal Studios which makes a good all-day outing.

I'm not sure if the information I've provided is what you were looking for exactly, but do let me know if you need any specifics and/or some other details or options.

Here are some useful links that may help paint a better picture about all that you've just read

Duck & Hippo Tours - http://www.ducktours.com.sg/ 

Resorts World Sentosa - http://www.rwsentosa.com/

Takashiyama - http://www.takashimaya-sin.com/

Pulau Ubin - http://www.pulauubin.com.sg/

Singapore Zoo - http://www.zoo.com.sg/

Bird Park - http://www.birdpark.com.sg/

NIght Safari - http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/

Singapore Flyer - http://www.singaporeflyer.com/

Christmas at Orchard Road - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaragorn1984/sets/72157625628528094/show/

And here's a link to my flickr set which has pics from the city - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaragorn1984/sets/72157626694561885/

The pics may give you a better sense of what to expect at the various spots.

Like I said, this isn't an article for the Lonely Planet or Frommer's Travel material, but IMHO it's a pretty decent writeup about what tourists can expect when visiting Singapore.

Why I Like The Robot Over The Fruit.

As an early adopter of the Android platform (I've owned very first Google Branded Phone - the Nexus One) and an avid one at that (Since then I've owned the HTC Desire HD, the HTC Sensation and now the HTC One X), it doesn't take a genius to figure out that I have a thing for the Android platform. But don't get all presumptuous and write me off as a Fandroid and an Apple Hater yet. I also own a Mac Book Pro (The latest iteration before the Retina Display ones kicked in) an iPod Touch and an iPad 2.

With all the Apple products I have in my life, you're probably asking yourselves, Why in God's name is this fella not using an iPhone! Well, it's a personal thing and I'm not here to debate on whether Apple or Android is better. There are plenty of forums and articles bashing either platform, and clearly each side has some great arguments.

I'm here to point out why I personally feel Android has done more good for the smartphone universe than it's elite predecessing counterpart.

Provide an OS platofrm that can be used across varying hardware
The Android OS was designed such that it could be ported to a multitude of hardware devices. You've probably seen numerous phones runing this OS, but did you know that this is also being used across digital cameras, TV Media hubs and even refrigerators! Yea, that's the brilliance of the open source code of Android. Developers and tech enthusiasts have tweaked the source code in ways that let it be conveniently ported from one device to another bringing rich features to all sorts of consumer devices.

Open source allows robust community to provide further customizations and tweaks
If you own an Android phone and are a regular on the various forums, you've probably heard of Cyanogenmod. Like them, there are various other groups that develope and support custom ROMs and other tweaks that can be "flashed" to your android device to give you even more bang for your buck. Stable ROMs have known to provide

• Faster CPU clockspeeds
• Enhanced customization options
• Latest OS updates (really useful if you're using a non nexus device)
• And loads more...

A touch smartphone for every one at different price points
Touch Smartphones owners were an exclusive lot. Well considering that for a long time the iPhone was probably the only true touch smartphone, and was insanely expensive for consumers in countries like India, the number of folks that owned one was very low. With Android, manufacturers were able to create low-cost handsets that could run the OS and provide all (well almost) of the features that a smartphone offers. Look at any major player, HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony and even Motorola and you'll find an exhaustive inventory of budget smartphones running the Android OS.

Deep Integration with Google Services
This one needs no explanation at all. As an Android user, you get a SSO experience across all Google products. And yes, cloud syncing of contacts, calendar and tasks as well as OTA wireless updates of Apps and OS was first introduced by Android as early as 2010.

Despite the numerous features that Android has to offer an a platform, it's sad that most iPhone users refuse to accept the fact that their phone isn't the epitome of class and technology and have this blind hatred for the Android platform and the phones that use them. Most of them haven't even used one in ages and are oblivious to the feature rich platform that is Android.

Refinement alone cannot carry a product forward. After a point, features do become a crucial variable in the equation.

So, well I lied. I mentioned this would not be one of those posts that would not decide which mobile OS platform is better. Unfortunately, it seems that's exactly what this turned out to be! Ah well, the facts are here for you to read and comment. So let me know your thoughts.

Till then, Android #FTW